Runningmates Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr. and Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio promised to speed up the process for immediate use of nuclear power to generate electricity in the country if ever they win in the upcoming 2022 elections.
The expression of support came after President Rodrigo Duterte signed Executive Order (EO) No. 164 on February 28, 2022, detailing the country’s future standards on the use of nuclear energy while taking into account the country’s economic, political, social, and environmental goals.
In a statement, the UniTeam believes that the inclusion of nuclear power in the Philippine energy mix will lower electricity bills and also provide a reliable source of energy.
“The President’s executive order is a good springboard for the next administration to pursue its nuclear energy objectives. Our vision for the country is to have at least one nuclear power plant so we can finally produce cheap energy and for us to lower our electricity rates, ” the statement said.
Based on Department of Energy (DOE) Power Statistics 2020 data, some of the nation’s largest energy sources are coal at 57.2 percent, natural gas at 19.2 percent, geothermal at 10.6 percent, and hydro at 7.1 percent.
The data also showed that the Philippines has the third-highest electricity rate in Asia at P10/kWh after Japan and Singapore, according to data from 2019.
The team also stressed that the country needs to consider the use of nuclear power and said should not be politicized.
It can be recalled that Marcos urged the government to study a Korean firm’s proposal to rehabilitate the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP), which has a capacity of 621-megawatts and was expected to solve the country’s energy shortage problem during the time of former President Ferdinand Marcos but was prevented from operating by former president Cory Aquino’s administration.
